RAPE convictions have increased by 30 per cent after new legislation was introduced a year ago.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC today announced the first conviction rates for the new Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act, which came into force in December 2010.

The Act provided a broadened definition of rape and a statutory definition of 'consent'.

Of the 13 concluded prosecutions for cases with a charge of rape, the conviction rate under the new legislation was 62 per cent.

This compares to a conviction rate of 32 per cent for charges indicted under older legislation in 2008/09, the most recent year available.

The Lord Advocate said: "The new Sexual Offences Act brought about significant changes in the prosecution of sexual crime in Scotland.

"Previously Scotland had one of the narrowest definitions of rape in the world.

"The Act has broadened this substantially, making it no longer a gender-specific crime and providing a statutory definition of consent.

"The first internal statistics kept by NSCU (National Sexual Crimes Unit) under this new Act are encouraging to date.

"There have been 13 concluded prosecutions for cases with a charge of rape under S1 of the 2009 Act.

"The conviction rate is 62 per cent. Overall, for sexual offences there has been a conviction rate of 69 per cent under the 2009 Act."

The statistics mentioned today reflect cases which have commenced and concluded since the initiation of the Act a year ago.

The overall conviction rate for sexual offences under older laws was historically high, with the latest available Government statistics showing that 78 per cent of accused persons prosecuted for crimes of indecency in court were convicted. Of those prosecuted for rape or attempted rape, 46 per cent were convicted.

Mulholland also commented on a number of recent successful prosecutions, including the first conviction for human trafficking in Scotland.

He added: "Victims, and the public at large, should be confident that we have the skills and expertise to deal with this challenging and demanding area of work."

Labour justice spokeswoman Johann Lamont said: "These are encouraging figures that suggest we are moving in the right direction, but it is important to remember that only a fraction of rape cases reported to police actually make it to trial.

"Rape is a horrific crime which can take a lot of courage to report to police, and for a victim to find out their case is not going to court can be devastating.

"With the rape conviction rate in Scotland still lower than other European countries, it is clear we still have some way to go to ensure those guilty are brought to justice.

"We believe there is a strong case for the removal of corroboration in cases of rape and serious sexual assault, with research suggesting far more sexual offences cases could proceed to trial."